1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging lens, and more particularly to an imaging lens which is suitable for installation into an image input device of a portable telephone or personal computer, a digital camera, a CCD camera used for monitoring purposes, a surveying device, or similar which uses a CCD or CMOS as an imaging device.
2. Description of Related Art
In such an imaging lens, the optical length, which is defined as the distance from the entrance surface on the object side of the imaging lens to the imaging surface (the image-forming surface of a CCD or the like), must be short. In other words, during design of the lens, a method of reducing the ratio of the optical length to the combined focal length of the imaging lens is required. An imaging lens having a short optical length and a small optical length to focal length ratio will occasionally be referred to as a compact lens below.
Taking a portable telephone as an example, the optical length must at least be shorter than the thickness of the portable telephone body. Meanwhile, the back focus, which is defined as the distance from the exit surface on the image side of the imaging lens to the imaging surface, is preferably as long as possible. In other words, during design of the lens, a method of increasing the ratio of the back focus to the focal length as much as possible is required. This is due to the need to insert components such as a filter or cover glass between the imaging lens and the imaging surface.
As well as the points described above, a imaging lens is required to be corrected such that various aberrations are reduced by a sufficient amount that distortion of the image is not visually perceptible, and as required by the integration density of the imaging elements (also called “pixels”). Below, “various aberrations have been corrected so as to be sufficiently small that image distortions are not visually perceived, and requirements of the imaging element integration density are met” is, for simplicity, represented by the phrase “various aberrations are satisfactorily corrected” or similar. An image in which various aberrations are satisfactorily corrected may be called a “satisfactory image”.
As will be described below, imaging lenses with a three-lens structure which are suitable for use in imaging devices such as portable computers, video telephones, or similar using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD or CMOS have been disclosed. These lenses all secure a wide viewing angle, and are compact and lightweight.
Of these lenses, an imaging lens capable of obtaining images with satisfactorily corrected aberration while securing a wide viewing angle has been disclosed as a first three-layer lens (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-075006).
However, the refractive power of these three lenses, which are constituted by first, second, and third lenses arrayed in succession from the object side, is positive in the first lens, negative in the second lens, and positive in the third lens, and hence the distance (optical length) from the surface of the first lens on the object side to the imaging surface cannot be shortened. Further, a diaphragm is disposed on the object-side surface of the first lens, and hence the effective diameter of the third lens cannot be reduced. As a result, a compact lens cannot be produced.
Imaging lenses in which aberration is satisfactorily corrected and a short focus is realized while securing a wide viewing angle have been respectively disclosed as second through fourth three-layer lenses (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-149548, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-221659, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-244030).
However, similarly to the imaging lens described above, the refractive power of the three lenses of these imaging lenses, constituted by first, second, and third lenses arranged in succession from the object side, is positive in the first lens, negative in the second lens, and positive in the third lens. Hence, although these imaging lenses are set with a short combined imaging lens focal length, the back focus is long, and thus the optical length is too long. In addition, these lenses use glass materials, and are therefore expensive.
An imaging lens which uses aspherical lenses and is reduced in size by appropriately setting power distribution and surface shape has been disclosed as a fifth three-layer lens (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-149545).
However, the refractive power of the three lenses of this imaging lens, constituted by first, second, and third lenses arranged in succession from the object side, is negative in the first lens, positive in the second lens, and negative in the third lens. As a result, the imaging lens has a long optical length. In addition, the lenses use glass materials, and are therefore expensive.
A lens in which a pair of meniscus lenses whose concave surfaces face each other are constituted by plastic lenses each having at least one aspherical surface, and in which the entire lens system has a three-layer structure, has been disclosed as a sixth three-layer lens (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-301022). This lens achieves compactness and low cost, and is capable of suppressing focus movement due to temperature change with ease.
However, the refractive power of the three lenses in this imaging lens, which are arranged as first, second, and third lenses in succession from the object side, is weak in the first lens, weak in the second lens, and positive in the third lens, and hence the refractive power of the first lens and second lens cannot be fully compensated for by the third lens alone. As a result, the back focus lengthens, causing an increase in the optical length. Furthermore, the third lens uses a glass material, and hence cost reduction is incomplete.
A low-cost lens system with a short optical length which has a telephoto-type lens constitution in which the entire lens system is divided into front and rear groups, the front group having a positive refractive power and the rear group having a negative refractive power, has been disclosed as a seventh three-layer lens (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-301021).
However, the refractive power of the three lenses in this lens system, which are arranged as first, second, and third lenses in succession from the object side, is negative in the first lens, positive in the second lens, and negative in the third lens, and the interval between the second lens and third lens is wide. As a result, the optical length is long, and the aperture of the third lens widens. This is unsuitable for installation in image input devices of portable telephones or personal computers, digital cameras, CCD cameras used for monitoring purposes, surveying devices, and so on.
An imaging lens comprising, in succession from the object side, two positive lenses, and a negative lens whose concave surface faces the image side, both surfaces of which are aspherical and the negative power of which gradually weakens from the center of the lens toward the periphery so as to have a positive power on the periphery, has been disclosed as an eighth three-layer lens (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-322792).
In this lens system, however, the back focus is short in relation to the focal length, and hence it is difficult to insert components such as a filter between the imaging lens and imaging surface. More specifically, considering the lens described in the embodiments, this lens is converted to an imaging lens with a combined focal length of 1.0 mm, and the back focus (which corresponds to D7+D8+D9 according to the reference symbols used in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-075006) is 0.3890 mm in the first embodiment and 0.4423 mm in the second embodiment. Since components such as a filter must be inserted between the imaging lens and imaging surface in image input devices of portable telephones and the like, this lens is difficult to use in such an application.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an imaging lens which is suitable for installation in a camera using a CCD or CMOS as an imaging device, which has a short optical length (a small optical length to focal length ratio), a back focus which is as long as possible (a back focus to focal length ratio which is as large as possible), and which is thus capable of obtaining satisfactory image.
Another object of the present invention is to provide guidelines for selecting lens materials having an Abbe number within an appropriate range in order to obtain satisfactory image.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an imaging lens in which all of the (three) lenses constituting the imaging lens of the invention are made of plastic materials to thereby reduce cost and weight. Here, “plastic materials” refers to high polymeric substances which are transparent to visible light, and may molded by being subjected to plastic deformation through application of heat, pressure, or both and thereby formed into lenses.